What is the Heart of Christmas?

The thought of Christmas causes many responses. The problem is that if not careful we can have a “conditioned response.” A very famous study showed how a dog was taught to salivate just when he hears a bell ring. No food needed to be present. There was also a story about a cancer patient that acquired a conditioned response. She experienced such bad nausea each time she left her doctor’s office, that even several months after all of her treatments were over, she ran into the doctor at a grocery store…seeing him she immediately threw up! Perhaps in a time of emergency a conditioned response might be good, but in most cases we need to respond consciously so we understand what we are feeling. Many kick into an automatic response at Christmas…and miss the meaning of this time of year.

Christmas is not a day, it represents a way of life. It is healthy to stop now

and rethink what this Christmas meant to you. Many things can steal what Christmas should be.

Here are several thefts of Christmas

* Busyness

* Obsessed with gifts- giving or getting

* Parties - –wanting to go – hating to go – hosting too many

* Family – wanting to see…hoping not to see

* Movie Magic

None of these things are evil in themselves, but they can rob us from what God desires us to experience as we celebrate the life of His Son.

Some years ago I read this - "Some businessmen are saying that this could be the greatest Christmas ever. I always thought that the first one was."

Looking how sad it has become brought my focus to a passage that has absolutely nothing to do with Christmas, but sheds a lot of light on the problem we have today

Acts 17:16–23 “While Paul was waiting for them in Athens, he was deeply troubled by all the idols he saw everywhere in the city. He went to the synagogue to reason with the Jews and the God-fearing Gentiles, and he spoke daily in the public square to all who happened to be there. He also had a debate with some of the Epicurean and Stoic philosophers. When he told them about Jesus and his resurrection, they said, “What’s this babbler trying to say with these strange ideas he’s picked up?” Others said, “He seems to be preaching about some foreign gods.” Then they took him to the high council of the city. “Come and tell us about this new teaching,” they said. “You are saying some rather strange things, and we want to know what it’s all about.” (It should be explained that all the Athenians as well as the foreigners in Athens seemed to spend all their time discussing the latest ideas.) So Paul, standing before the council, addressed them as follows: “Men of Athens, I notice that you are very religious in every way, for as I was walking along I saw your many shrines. And one of your altars had this inscription on it: ‘To an Unknown God.’ This God, whom you worship without knowing, is the one I’m telling you about.”

There are two specific groups mentioned here, and I think we still have them today.

Epicureans - Meaning "a helper: defender" Believed in gods, but no interest in earth. Fulfill pleasure and don't worry about future!

* Sounds very familiar – Don’t worry about debt just fulfill your desires. How many men and women have broken their marriage vows at a Christmas Party?

Stoics - Meaning "of the portico.” God is everywhere, live with nature, brotherhood of man. (no sin nature)

* Sounds very familiar – We all have our own way to God, and the ultimate end is to all live together.

Who God is has been lost by many: I met a young person who thought Jesus was a man with a big white beard and lived at the north pole.

The saddest epitaph I ever read was: “To a Unknown God.”

John makes it clear that God desires to be known.

John 1:1 &14:In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God…And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we saw His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth.

Not a thought, not an idea, not a feeling = Flesh In Him is life – this life is the light

After Neil Armstrong had taken his `one small step for a man, one giant leap for mankind' by stepping onto the surface of the moon, the President of the United States said: "The planting of human feet on the moon is the greatest moment in human history," Sometime later Billy Graham set the record straight during one of his crusade meetings.  "With all due respect to the President of the United States, the greatest moment in human history was not when man set foot on the moon, but when the infinite eternal God set foot on the earth in Jesus of Nazareth."

What is the heart of Christmas?

Our heart! - That determines what Christmas really means to us.

* It had been a hear day a normal day.  Sheep wandering off, maybe even fighting off a hungry bear or lion.  Now that it was dark and the sheep were down for the long cold night, they could relax a little.  Still keeping an eye open for any unwanted visitors.  They may have talked about their day or maybe how the census that Caesar Augustus required was causing so many people to travel.  As they were speaking something wonderful happened.

Luke 2:8–20 tells the story of shepherds in a filed that were told of Jesus, let’s learn from their hearts.

{1} The Willing Heart     * Responds to God

When the angels had returned to heaven, the shepherds said to each other, “Let’s go to Bethlehem! Let’s see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about.”

The shepherds may not have thought the Messiah would come this way…but their heart was willing to learn!

What do you do when you find out you were wrong?

The difference is seen in Paul and the Sanhedrin. The Sanhedrin paid the guards to lie, Paul asked God what He wanted him to do? There is a huge difference between being Hard Headed (Paul) versus being Hard Hearted (Sanhedrin)

{2} The Willing heart * Reports about God

After seeing him, the shepherds told everyone what had happened and what the angel had said to them about this child. All who heard the shepherds’ story were astonished

The shepherds were eager to share with others Who God is!

How easily does your relationship with Jesus enter conversations you have?

As I watched individuals during the wedding all different kind of reactions / tears / smiles / all different kinds of people were reacting in different ways, except one group of individuals. The married women. All of them at one time or another during the wedding looked up at their husband with a glaze in their eyes, tilted there head and gave this slight smile and then like the doggies in the back windows of automobiles with the spring necks do / they just kinda started floating. Even the maid of honor did it,(husband was in balcony) All were connected by a common experience / It was not something they had heard about or dreamed about or even something they were hoping for. Each and everyone of those ladies were remembering their wedding day. The experience was real and still has an impact on them now.

That is what a relationship with Christ will give you, a common experience of eternal life!

{3} The Willing heart * Rejoices because OF God

The shepherds went back to their flocks, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen. It was just as the angel had told them.

What brings you greater joy, what God gives you or God Himself?

There is a sad true story from years ago. A wealthy couple was celebrating a christening party for their baby. They opened their beautiful home to family and friends. As the party was moving along and the people were having a wonderful time eating and drinking and celebrating and enjoying one another, somebody said, `By the way, where is the baby?' The heart of that mother jumped, and she instantly left the room and rushed into the master bedroom…where all the coats of the guest had been piled onto the bed. Sadly, that is where she had left her baby sleeping, the child smothered.

Don’t smother Jesus out of your Christmas. He desires a very intimate and personal relationship with each of you. 

Meditation:

1. What area of your life are you willing to open up to God that He does not have yet?

2. How willing will you be to share with others what Christmas really

means to you?

3. What are you willing to do to make this Christmas more about Him? 

Christmas: Can I really understand what God is saying?

One of the most entertaining phenomenon’s I have witnessed…and even done…is when someone is trying to communicate to someone that speaks a different language. In their desire to connect, many times they speak very slow and very loud. The speed we all understand, but the volume makes no sense. They don’t understand…they are not deaf! I remember seeing one person putting their hands over their ears as the man trying to help give them directions was at a decibel 9! 

Christmas is about many things, God’s love, God’s sacrifice, God’s commitment to relationship with His Creation…and it is also about communication. God communicated in the most intimate and direct way anyone could. The message of Christmas carries so much in it, volumes have been written on it. “God’s ways are not our ways,” “Incarnation,” “a baby in a manger, with shepherds and animals,” “the Son of God…the God-man, growing and learning,” “emptying self of all rights and full submission,” the list could go on for a endless time.

The perfect communication is Christmas. God in a way that just boggles my mind communicated His message to mankind in a perfect way. Not in mere words. Not in miraculous signs…but in a Person!

Hebrews 1:1-2 In the past God spoke to our forefathers through the prophets at many times and in various ways,  but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, and through whom he made the universe.

John 3:16 God so loved!

Christmas is not: a system of beliefs, a warm and fuzzy feeling, a social requirement, or a 1 day cease fire, after which you can shoot someone again. An Infinite God, beyond our comprehension, became flesh…in order that we would have the choice to live forever with Him.

Clear communication most times requires actions that follow.

I never had a green thumb. I enjoy looking at flowers, but to me they were a waste of money because all they ever do is die! When I was a young husband the Holy Spirit taught me a lesson on communicating love to my wife. She loves flowers. One day I was wishing I could show her how much I loved her. She knew that I thought money spent on flowers was a waste. God's Spirit prompted me to buy her a rose - "grudgingly" I did. I snuck it in the house and gave it to her...then I did that every Friday for a year. The message came in loud and clear to her, and all it took was a flower! 

God spoke much louder and with the ultimate sacrifice!

However, we must remember there are 2 dynamics to communication: Sending and Receiving. God took care of the sending portion…the receiving is up to us! This is where we need to seriously focus on our own heart and ears. What are we hearing…more importantly, what are we willing to hear? Let’s look at a great example to encourage us to listen with an open heart this Christmas.

Matthew 1:18-25 This is how the birth of Jesus Christ came about: His mother Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to be with child through the Holy Spirit.  Because Joseph her husband was a righteous man and did not want to expose her to public disgrace, he had in mind to divorce her quietly. But after he had considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, "Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins." All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: "The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and they will call him Emmanuel"--which means, "God with us." When Joseph woke up, he did what the angel of the Lord had commanded him and took Mary home as his wife. But he had no union with her until she gave birth to a son. And he gave him the name Jesus.

Joseph chose to receive what God said through “faith.” He believed God! What does in mean to believe? Believe: To remain steadfast; to be persuaded; to adhere to, rely on

True faith is based on Who you know…not What you know! Joseph could not comprehend all that was happening, nor did he possess all the facts. This is where we discover real Faith. Too many think you have to understand it all before you believe and obey. How can the “finite” ever fully understand the “Infinite?” Scripture teaches us to act on what has been revealed, leave the details to God. Like Abraham, Joseph took his eyes off the circumstances, off of himself, and looked straight to God.

Hebrews 11:8 By faith Abraham, when called to go to a place he would later receive as his inheritance, obeyed and went, even though he did not know where he was going.

Romans 4:19-21 Without weakening in his faith, he faced the fact that his body was as good as dead--since he was about a hundred years old--and that Sarah's womb was also dead. Yet he did not waver through unbelief regarding the promise of God, but was strengthened in his faith and gave glory to God, being fully persuaded that God had power to do what He had promised.

Both Abraham and Joseph based what they did on what HE said!

Consider Judas…talk about a guy who had the facts! Yet, he kept his eyes on what he thought was happening, what he was willing to believe and what he wanted. The issue is never anything else but YOU!

When we receive what an Infinite Person (God) sends, it is not based on what we feel…Joseph knew this was not his son, he must have been confused because no prophet had fully understood how the Messiah would come. Joseph also teaches us that “outcome” was not a factor. Would he be considered a sinner that had sex with Mary before the wedding? What would happen to his reputation, his business? Joseph did not allow his expectations dictate his decisions. God’s idea of success is far from the world’s! Faith yields to His will and vision, not our own will.

Here is the key benefit of the example of faith Joseph gave us: We may not know where we are going or how we are going to get there…Bethlehem?...but we know who we are! A person that believes God is in our lives and has a purpose and a plan for us! Wherever you find yourself this Christmas…don’t give into circumstances, emotions or pressure from the world. Choose to receive what God is sending you, trust Him and follow the example of Joseph:

“When Joseph woke up, he did what the angel of the Lord had commanded him”

The so what: What is going on in your life right now? What do you believe God is saying through that? How are you receiving it? If you do not understand his leading, what should you do? Do you believe God really loves you? What communication are you sending back to Him?

Christmas, a time of friendship. How do I choose friends?

I want to meditate on Christmas for the next few Devo’s. Looking at some different issues during this season. The first one is friendship. Christmas time is a time that most of us desire to be with family and friends. We do need the Lord’s help in balancing our friendships.

Probing Proverbs 12:26 The godly give good advice to their friends; the wicked lead them astray.

I grew up watching the cowboy show, “The Lone Ranger.” The thing I remembered the most was the close friendship between him and his companion Tonto who was a Native American. The reason I remember their relationship so much was in that day “Cowboy and Indian” movies had them fighting against each other most times. However, whenever the Lone Ranger was in trouble he could count on his friend Tonto for help. Years later I heard this joke:

The Lone Ranger and Tonto were riding across the plains when off to the west they noticed a cloud of dust. It turned out to be a band of Indians galloping directly at them. They turned their horses around and headed east.  Pretty soon they saw another thick cloud of dust in front of them.  More Indians.  

They turned their horses north. But another cloud of dust revealed more Indians.  In desperation they turned their horses south and galloped off in that direction.  Once again, a choking cloud of dust revealed more Indians attacking from that direction.

Realizing they were surrounded the Lone Ranger looked at Tonto and asked, "What do we do now, Tonto?" Tonto glared back at him. "What do you mean `we' paleface?"

Obviously, that would not be a good example of friendship! Still, there is a point, the Tonto in this joke betrays his friend. This proverb warns us about that. In reality that is what is happening when someone leads you astray…betrayal!

Let’s consider what “friend” means.

Friend defined:

Regular Dictionary: - A person who you like and enjoy being with; a person who helps or supports someone or something; a person whom one knows, likes, and trusts.

Urban Dictionary: People who are aware of how retarded you are and still manage to be seen in public with you. People who make you laugh till you pee your pants. People who cry for you when one of your special items disappear. When you don’t have enough money to get a ice cream, they chip in. They know all of your Internet passwords. They would never make you cry just to be mean.

Sadly, this term is also used to describe someone we connected with on the Internet…even though we don’t know them at all!

I find it important for my own benefit to give important words in my own life a deeper meaning than just a definition. So when I think of the word “friend” my meaning would be this: "A person that you know intimately and they want God’s best for you."

When it comes to friends we need to break that list down into two columns. This Proverb gives a sobering warning as to why. In both cases there is a friendship basis that exists. 

One friend gives “good” advice that will lead you toward God. 

The other friend gives advice that, if followed, will take you off the 

path that leads to God and godliness. The issue that needs to be confronted is how do I deal with the mixture of friends in my life. I believe you can break it down to two groups; those that you impact and those that impact you! 

God does not want us to separate from those that live far from Him, we are the only light they have! What God expects of us is to use discernment in the influence that is brought to bear into our lives.

The lack of this discernment is the cause of much misunderstanding of verses like:

1 Corinthians 15:33 Do not be deceived: “Bad company corrupts good morals.”

The “Bad Company” needs the good news, if we separate ourselves from them, who will share that good news. A true friend joins you in the storms of life and remains with you! This verse has to do with “company” that will influence your life toward theirs instead of God’s. 

The other misunderstanding is that when we separate ourselves from the worldly, they feel judged and see us as self-righteous.

Be friends to all, and allow the Holy Spirit and your spiritual community help you discern which friends are you impacting and which ones are impacting you. I have friends I like very much, but when it comes to spiritual truth, when they speak, I listen, however, I do so with the intention of bringing the True Light into the conservation. Not because I am selling something, but because they are my friend and I firmly believe the only life                                                  there is, is one with Christ! 

I have other friends that speak truth into my life and the wonderful reality is that God has given me the measuring rod to make sure the advice leads to Him. The Scriptures are the standard that all advice can be weighed by. If the advice goes against the Word, don’t over react, just mark down that this person is not the one you want to influence your life at this time. Remember, that may change. I have seen friends come to a personal relationship with Christ, and soon afterward the Word of God confirms the spiritual wisdom they share. 

Be friendly…and be discerning!

The so what? Do you take time to evaluate your friendships, who is impacting who, and how? Can you name 1-3 friends that move you toward the Lord? Can you name 1-3 friends that have confused counsel, so you are praying how you can help them? Are you willing to have God bring you new friends in 2017, both that can impact you for good and those you can impact? Are you praying for that?

Am I suppose to enjoy being disciplined by God?

Probing Proverbs: 3:11-12 My child, don’t reject the LORD’s discipline, and don’t be upset when he corrects you.  For the LORD corrects those he loves, just as a father corrects a child in whom he delights.

This is a true story: There was a young boy, his father had abandoned him, his mother neglected and would not love him. At  10, a new man came into his life, the man was dating this boy's older sister. For years that man built a relationship with this boy…at one point bringing him in as a teenager to live at his home because the boy’s mother had thrown him out of the house. This man married the boy’s sister and they continued to try to love and guide him. Sometimes things went so well, other times, the man had to speak hard truth to the boy. At one point the boy, now a man, really did some sinful things and got into big trouble. The older man had to draw a difficult line…his arms were wide open but the young man needed to embrace the discipline, but instead broke the fellowship. Years later the older man encountered the young man, who now had a child of his own. Time went by and they grew back into fellowship. One day while they were both at a funeral, the young man turned to the older man and said, “I just want to thank you for all you did in my life. I know I did not always show it, but even when you had to draw lines of discipline and I rebelled, later I would see you loved me.” Then to the shock of the older man, the younger man said, “If I ever find my father’s grave I will urinate on it…you are my dad to me!” Harsh…yes, but the older man’s heart was broken because he could see that the Lord had guided him properly in what true love to a child is. 

Sadly, a proverb like this does not land easily in our heart. Still, the reality is, that God's discipline is motivated by love. Notice the words used; “don’t reject” and “don’t be upset.” God is not asking us to “enjoy” or “be glad” when we have to be disciplined by Him! That would be unreasonable, and He is an overwhelmingly reasonable Person! Even the                                  writer of Hebrews understood this:

Hebrews 12:11 All discipline for the moment seems not to be joyful, but sorrowful; yet to those who have been trained by it, afterwards it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness.

God is exhorting us…not to enjoy…but embrace what discipline means and what it produces. This scripture really challenges us in the area of “understanding.” We need to Understand that rejecting the Lord’s discipline only complicates our life. That discipline is for a reason; the sooner we learn the lesson, the sooner the discipline stops! We also need to stop Misunderstanding the reason God does this. He is not mean, or “getting even,” His motive is love. As a loving parent, God thinks it is dangerous for us to play with sin – (like playing with nitroglycerin) – it can kill us! So He takes the time to send the exact discipline we need to help break what  captured our attention and allowed sin to have possession of our heart. He could just judge us, but because of love He spanks us to get our attention. Pay attention – it’s the path to repentance!  It is also the testimony that we belong to Him!

Hebrews 12:7–8 It is for discipline that you endure; God deals with you as with sons; for what son is there whom his father does not discipline? ⁸ But if you are without discipline, of which all have become partakers, then you are illegitimate children and not sons.

The so what? How do you handle being disciplined by the Lord? After you sin, can you still go immediately to the Lord? If so, why? If not, why? After you sin, do you feel God’s love or not? Do you think God loves you less? What’s the difference between being a family member and a friend? Do you believe your sin affects your relationship with God? Do you think your sin affects your fellowship with God?

The real lifeline to reality!

Last time we looked at reasons we ought to be thankful for Prayer. Let’s review:

1. Prayer is the POWER!

a. Prayer is the Overt Power

b. Prayer is the Covert Power

c. Prayer is the Invisible Power

d. Prayer is the Unlimited Power

Here are 3 more that need to be consciously thought through in order to bring Prayer to the forefront of our mind so we learn to go there first…every time.

2. Prayer is PRACTICAL

Abraham Lincoln offered this honest confession about his need for prayer: "I have been driven many times to my knees by the overwhelming conviction that I had nowhere else to go.  My own wisdom, and that of all about me, seemed insufficient for the day."

It amazes me what people turn to for help, yet miss the reality of a living God that desires to communicate, connect and help. Every time I have been stuck or unable to make a decision, I have found that after I spend some time in prayer, the Lord either reveals the answer to me or opens my mind to know what to do. Yes, there is faith involved, but not blind faith, for I have experienced and witnessed the evidence of a living God!

Jonah 2:1 From inside the fish Jonah prayed to the LORD his God. 2  He said: "In my distress I called to the LORD, and he answered me. From the depths of the grave I called for help, and you listened to my cry. 3  You hurled me into the deep, into the very heart of the seas, and the currents swirled about me; all your waves and breakers swept over me. 4  I said, 'I have been banished from your sight; yet I will look again toward your holy temple.' 5  The engulfing waters threatened me, the deep surrounded me; seaweed was wrapped around my head. 6  To the roots of the mountains I sank down; the earth beneath barred me in forever. But you brought my life up from the pit, O LORD my God. 7  "When my life was ebbing away, I remembered you, LORD, and my prayer rose to you, to your holy temple. 8  "Those who cling to worthless idols forfeit the grace that could be theirs.

I especially find encouragement from Jonah, his problem was “self inflicted!” Yet he knew that God is God, full of grace and mercy. How silly it would be to hold on to your pride and not go to the One Person that can offer help? David understood this, he had committed some terrible sins and the Lord decided to chastise him. Yet, he still went to the Lord:

2 Samuel 12:21–23 Then his servants said to him, “What is this thing that you have done? While the child was alive, you fasted and wept; but when the child died, you arose and ate food.” ²² He said, “While the child was still alive, I fasted and wept; for I said, ‘Who knows, the Lord may be gracious to me, that the child may live.’ ²³ “But now he has died; why should I fast? Can I bring him back again? I will go to him, but he will not return to me.”

Just because we pray it does not mean we will get what we want…but if we don’t pray we will miss what the Lord might have done!

"Please say a prayer that my mom can lose 20 pounds.  She tried Weight-Watchers and it didn't help.  Now she needs PRAYER!" (Jennifer--Age 11)

"Please say a prayer for my teacher.  She's sick and if you said a prayer she would get better and come back to school.  Sincerely Susan.

P.S.--The other kids in my class said I should not write this letter."

"Pastor, please pray for all the airline pilots.  I'm flying to California tomorrow." (Laurie--in New York--Age 10)

Little girl after her geography test: "Please make Boston the capital of Vermont."

John 16:24  Until now you have not asked for anything in my name. Ask and you will receive, and your joy will be complete.

3. Prayer is where the best PRAISE takes place.

Psalms 141:2 May my prayer be set before you like incense; may the lifting up of my hands be like the evening sacrifice.

Proverbs 15:8 The LORD detests the sacrifice of the wicked, but the prayer of the upright pleases him.

God loves communing with His children. The more you pray the more easily you learn to enter into praise!

4. Prayer is PERSONAL

Prayer is for you and the Lord, even if you are petitioning for someone else. This is when your heart can release to your Creator and experience renewed hope, while witnessing His mighty hand!

Genesis 25:21 Isaac prayed to the LORD on behalf of his wife, because she was barren. The LORD answered his prayer, and his wife Rebekah became pregnant.

Psalms 4:1  Answer me when I call to you, O my righteous God. Give me relief from my distress; be merciful to me and hear my prayer.

Psalms 6:9 The LORD has heard my cry for mercy; the LORD accepts my prayer.

Psalms 17:6 I call on you, O God, for you will answer me; give ear to me and hear my prayer.

Psalms 42:8 By day the LORD directs his love, at night his song is with me-- a prayer to the God of my life.

Psalms 88:13 But I cry to you for help, O LORD; in the morning my prayer comes before you.

F.B. Meyer - "The great tragedy of life is not unanswered prayer, but unoffered prayer."

The So What: Can you make it through a day without prayer? What area of your prayer life is lacking the most? How honest are you with God when you talk to Him? What does that show? Is there anything that you are afraid to talk to God about? How often to you find praise coming from you to God when you talk to Him?